At the eleventh hour, Rihanna was forced to cancel her scheduled performance at tonight’s Grammy Awards due to a bout of bronchitis. A statement provided by the singer’s reps said, “Based on Rihanna’s examination, Rihanna’s doctor put her on vocal rest for 48-hours because she was at risk of hemorrhaging her vocal chords. The antibiotics she has been on for three days did not kill the infection adequately therefore she cannot perform safely.”
Rihanna apparently pushed through rehearsals, but was told that performing tonight could permanently damage her vocal cords and so eventually acquiesced to her doctor’s advice. Like everyone, everywhere, we’re pretty bummed about this, as Rihanna was set to perform the song “Kiss It Better” from her new album, Anti.
RiRi wasn’t the only no-show of the night. Lauryn Hill, who was widely rumored to be performing with The Weeknd, blamed scheduling difficulties on her absence. In a statement, Hill’s reps said, “The Grammy’s announced a performance by Ms. Lauryn Hill prematurely and without approval. Ms. Hill had concerts all weekend, leaving no time to prepare, and was uncertain she would even be able to make it to LA in time to rehearse for the event. Any performance that could have happened was never confirmed, and should not have been advertised as such. Ms. Hill was invited to do a collaboration with an artist she appreciates. The performance was intended to be a surprise and unfortunately due to its last minute nature, was unable to come to fruition.”
Both artists were missed, as we can only imagine how epic their planned performances were meant to be.
